About to Buy '04. with a 3" block lift... ADVICE NEEDED

Hey Fellas

been looking for a solid 2 months now and just sold my dd chevy so i need something ASAP and not settling for anything other than a 1st gen...that said I know very little about lifts and Need advice desperately

truck is an '04, 4X4 TRD offroad 5 speed Xtra cab...

Truck Im looking at has a 3" block lift (guy said hes not sure of brand, got it off ebay for $220), not sure what it has in the front (could the front and rear shocks be the original bilsteins, with just a spacer added up front?), and I know very little about lifts, suspensions, etc.

I am a STOCK guy, and like the look of the 1st gen star wheels with some all terrains on it, and from what Ive read i dont need a lift for that.

QUESTION:

1. Should I be concerned about wear on other parts of the truck if he has around 20k miles on the truck with the block lift?

2. If i get the truck, would it be a pain to turn it back to STOCK? Owner said he does not have original U bolts etc, so where would I order them from? I assume the block lift uses original shocks (front and rear), and original leaf, so I wouldnt have to get anything else...is that correct?

3. I am planning on towing a 16 ft fiberglass skiff with a 70HP yamaha, Ive read the towing bible sticky and know the boat would be well within the towing limits of the truck. Would a AAL be good to install instead of keeping it stock, purpose being so the truck rides level when the boat is hooked up? Just dont want any sagging of truck with boat attached, any kind of saggage is bad IMO

4. If a truck is lifted with blocks in the back, are spacers the only thing added up front?

All I know about suspension etc is from lurking on here is that:

AAL - Add a leaf
OME - Old man Emu
OEM - What truck was originally manufactured with? now im confused

You can prolly tell by now I dont know shit when it comes to this stuff, any direction to a thread that explains the BASICS would be much appreciated

 

It would help if you could pst some photos of the front and rear suspension. Then we'd know what your dealing with and can offer some suggestions.

 

gotcha...i will when i can, truck is 8 hours away and im going to check it out this weekend, so as of now its not a possibility

 

1.) kind of depends on how the guy drove it. If he just cruised around town trying to look cool then you're a lot better off than if he was mud bogging every weekend.
(were I you, I would just replace all four shocks to be safe at the same time as I took ou the blocks and I'm assuming spacers up front. I have OME shocks at stock height on my Pickup and it rides wonderfully )

2.) It would not be hard at all for yourself or a mechanic to take out the blocks and spacers. There are a lot of sites you can get U bolts from, I'm sure someone else can chime in where is best but anything like trdparts4u or something should have em.

3.) Look into air bags specifically made for towing. That way you won't have a lift out back when you're not towing, but you will have the necessary resistance when you are.

4.) Most likely.

 

Guy sounded like he went offroad with it for a bit, but no idea as to how much...Thx for the reply!

 

okay so the blocks gotta go. I'd be very weary of all four corners. best to replace all four shocks with bilsteins (or OME).

if you're reverting to stock keep in mind the previous owner might have put larger tires on the lift so as you lower you need to make sure you can still clear the tires.

as far as towing, if you don't want lift and to stay stock height, airbags are right up your alley. I believe Firestone makes some. they really level out the ride when towing we have some on our Tahoe towing two tons of trailer and not a bit of sag after inflation

 

roger that, I appreciate the advice....from what pics i have seen of the stock '01-'04 taco, it seems that the front sits a bit lower than the rear anyway, so im thinking i might not even have to do airbags, just the OME version of the original shocks, leafs, and coils?

 

bump